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Aww, this drama is really charming. ‘Because This is Our First Love’ hurts so good and this push-and-pull game between our main couple is so heart-breaking but in such a satisfying way. I love the little voiceovers of lessons and thoughts our characters get from facing obstacles in life and I love the relationship between Se-hee and Ji-ho even more.

This drama doesn’t have a lot going on, but it still manages to keep you engaged. Maybe it’s because you’re so curious and interested as to what’s going to happen to our main couple who married for housing purposes that you keep watching. Se-hee is so mysterious and you rarely get glimpses of how he feels about Ji-ho while Ji-ho continues to remain kind but honest and direct with Se-hee and it’s this dynamic between the two that is so charming and interesting. They’re honest with each other on different topics, but they also maintain a line of boundaries and respect between them because they came to knowing each other first as housemates before anything else.

The drama has been showing our main couple beautifully struggle with their feelings towards each other. They obviously have some feelings and affection towards each other, but hold back in fear that these feelings will go unreciprocated. We clearly see this push-and-pull game in the most recent episodes as Ji-ho considers her one-sided love towards Se-hee (again). Just when she thought she opened the doors to his mind and a piece of the wall to his heart, she discovers that maybe she really didn’t and she returns back to square one where she had started. But this is what I love about the drama. You never really know what’s going to happen and what Se-hee himself is feeling. This uncertainty keeps me engaged because at one point he’s grabbing Ji-ho by the hand and leading her back to the apartment and then the next he conveys to her that he really only needs her to help him pay rent. What do you want Se-hee? What is it about Ji-ho that you like? I guess this could also make things frustrating, but I myself am not frustrated. Maybe it’s because our characters are so consistent that anything they say or any decisions they make never feel out of line and that’s why I’m not frustrated even though I feel like I should be.

We get development with our two side couples. Sang-gu and Soo-ji take the next step in their relationship by kissing by deciding to date each other. I thought it was so interesting that they themselves are caught up in a contract relationship. Yes, they like each other and want to date each other, but Soo-ji wants to sign a contract to make things official and clear. We see here that it’s not only Se-hee and Ji-ho who are bounded to a contract with each other, but that even Sang-gu and Soo-ji are as well. Maybe contracts are just a thing in this drama eh? Of course, Sang-gu can’t reject Soo-ji and goes ahead with what Soo-ji wants even though he clearly knows that it isn’t good for him. Despite their age and being adults, I sort of feel like Sang-gu sometimes acts like a young teenage boy who likes his crush so much more than she likes him. The way he cries over her, the way he’s always thinking about her, the way he dances in pure happiness and bliss when he receives kind comments from her — it’s so puppy love to me in a way and I think it’s adorable. He’s the CEO of this growing company and is successful at managing his employees and app, but struggles when it comes to love and Soo-ji. The irony of it all, haha. I have to admit, I did enjoy it a little bit more when Sang-gu was doing all the chasing and trying to prove to Soo-ji why she should choose him, but now that they’re “dating” it’ll be interesting to see how they’re like and if Soo-ji is really what Sang-gu wants to believe she’s like. I feel like he has this certain image and concept of her that he’s fantasized in his mind and he’s holding her to that image, but maybe with their relationship he’ll come to discovering that she’s not like who he thought she was all along and maybe the true challenge will be for Sang-gu to accept Soo-ji for who she is. I don’t know what’s going to happen to them now, but oh am I excited.

There was also growth for Ho-rang and Won-seok’s relationship. A relationship of 7 years turned into marriage once Won-seok proposed to Ho-rang. A part of me feels like he went ahead with this due to the guilt and pressure that Ho-rang placed on him and not actually because he wanted to marry her. I mean, I’m pretty sure Won-seok would want to marry Ho-rang, but just not at the moment because he’s still trying to get his life together. But because he loves Ho-rang and is willing to do anything for her, he proposed to her to make her happy. So while she’s happy in their relationship, he’s not and I’m afraid this is only going to do more damage than good to them in the future. It’s good that he’s given a second chance at success after the failure of his own app. He’s moved on to working with Sang-gu, Se-hee, and Bomi and from the looks of episode 10, it seems like Bomi might have a crush on him. There might possibly be a love triangle?

Ooh, the drama also solved the mystery involving Bok-nam. Turns out he actually wasn’t a stalker and just a regular young adult. Haha. Poor Bok-nam. First he was misunderstood to be a stalker and then his motorcycle also got beaten up. Whether the drama decided to go through with that storyline or not, I would have been fine either way. Bok-nam is just an extra character who doesn’t really contribute as much to the drama now so I’ll be okay with him not having as much screen time. I just really hope he doesn’t try to intervene between Se-hee and Ji-ho to make things into a love triangle. It’s already as complicated between the two who are confused about their feelings and relationship with each other we don’t need anymore people to make things even more confusing.

In episodes 9 and 10, we witness Ji-ho continue to question what her role is in not only Se-hee’s life but now also in his family’s life. She knows that she’s Se-hee’s tenant, but is she also his wife? How does he feel about her? What does he think about her? Does he possibly like her too? Ji-ho also interacted with Se-hee’s mother and family in episode 10 and she realizes that maybe she’s not as important to him as she thought she was. She’s just kind of there. She helps pay rent with Se-hee and then she’s left to be the good daughter-in-law with his parents. But is that all how Se-hee and his family views her? It seems like she’s desperate in a way to prove herself to them that she’s more than what they think, but at the same time she doesn’t want to and she’s not okay with having to put forth more effort to do that. Just like how Ji-ho has been doing with Se-hee’s family, it seems like it’ll be his turn to now interact with her family. I’m so excited to see a stoic and awkward Se-hee interact with Ji-ho’s strict and patriarchal family.  Maybe Se-hee will learn a few things about himself and Ji-ho during this time and things will become a bit more clear for confused and puzzled Ji-ho.

Also, I’m really curious as to what happened between Dad and Se-hee that their relationship is so sour. Why doesn’t Se-hee seem grateful for his dad and how his dad wants to buy him a house like he promised he would? Why do they seem so distant and why does Se-hee seem like he doesn’t want to have to do anything with his dad? I’m so intrigued by this aspect of their relationship that doesn’t seem like a father-son relationship at all. Something must have happened in the past for them to get to this point. The drama also hinted at a possible past marriage that Se-hee himself was involved in. If it is true that Se-hee was formerly married, this could explain for his iffy behavior with Ji-ho and strict relationship with his father. What happened to Se-hee for all these changes to happen?

Oh and also, Se-hee’s new haircut is so cute. Lee Min-ki looked adorable and handsome with both haircuts so I’m not even complaining about the new hair. He’s looking great :’)